Seen 2 so far a slow start
A peaccock in the garden and a small tort
But havent been able to get out on a good day yet, been working
Pete

Hi will this bad weather / cold spring knock the butterflies emergence back? I went to our local Silver-studded Blue site today (prees) and the food plants dont seem to be out yet I can imagine that butterflies that overwinter as eggs may be delayed how does it work out for ones that overwinter as c...

I cant wait for the season to start either
I had to work loads of overtime to pay for it , I dont have any other vices so went for it
Pete

Thanks :D it arrived the other day I Put it on the 40D and tried some shots indoors and its amazing for portraits I can handhold at 1/30 shutter speed I do natural light macros as well as butterflies and recon it will be perfect Also my 105 has an intermittent fault with the autofocus and gives me a...

Just ordered mine :D I've been thinking about it for ages deciding what to do as I already have the Sigma 105 and 150 I think it will be perfect for butterflies and natural light macro stuff as I dont like using flash Mainly will be shooting butterflies which will be about half lifesize . What sort ...

Hi Its a bit over my head but I dont see how downsizing the image after it leaves the camera can improve dynamic range What can help is that some cameras have an sRaw feature that using a smaller megapixal size on the sensor produces better but smaller files Or getting the Canon 5D mk2 superb dynami...

Hi glad to hear that you did not lose your pictures I have had a Hard drive fail but I did knock it over while it was running :oops: luckily it was new and did not have much on it I have 3 external drives and also backup to DVD but I have had DVD's fail too so I redo those on a regular basis it is f...

tut tut, Pete! I thought you were one of the tripodista. To sum it up for me, a camera mounted on a tripod at the lowest possible ISO is perfect... everything else is introducing some degree of compromise. Fact. Sure you'll get more shots in the field but I'd rather fly fish for trout than dynamite...

I agree on all counts. I have the 105mm and the only reason I also bought the 150mm is because of the collar which allows me to move the camera from landscape to portrait extremely quickly. Although I can stand further back from the subject with the 150mm, getting close enough to the subject with t...

Same setup as Pete (105 and 150) and use them in exactly the same way. Much prefer the 105mm handheld. I'm vaguely considering the Canon 100mm IS but it's a lot to pay for 2 stops! One problem is that I'd have to return to Canon (whereas I'm now using Sigma to get my wildlife macros) :roll: I would...

As long as your happy with the results Pete, I would stick with the set up you prefer using. I personally try to steer away from using high ISO's. Although I find using a tripod suuuuuch a drag, I think its a price worth paying. I can't remember how noisy the 40D was at ISO 800 :?: Regards Gruditch...

Hi I feel like I'm going round in circles a bit I started out with the Sigma 105 macro then got the 150 and a tripod (manfrotto jobbie with ball head) I cant make my mind up which is best for butterfly photography :D I found the 150 and tripod excellent and got nice shots I was really happy with but...

I came down to Fermyn on thursday with my friend Jeff we had a great day 3 new species for me
I was lucky Jeff had been before and knew where to look
Purple Emporer white admiral and white letter hairstreak
Met some very nice people too
Pete

Hi, I've had the same problem in the past and can only agree with the excellent advice already given
I always shoot raw and my best shots of ringlets have been in the morning before the sun comes up
Pete

Got back yesterday had a great time weather perfect I managed 2 trips to Breney it was magic to wander through the common and see the marsh fritilaries , thanks Wavelea1 and Matzukaze :D Also found quite a few butterflies in local fields including loads of painted ladies I bumped into the warden Dav...

Went to cornwall for a family holiday but still managed to find 2 new species for me :D From Breney common Marsh Fritilary http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v490/lcpete/_MG_7490a.jpg Small Pearl Bordered Fritilary http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v490/lcpete/_MG_7430.jpg As well as loads of Painted...

Hi here's one i've not seen before a Dingy trying to mate with a Grizzeled
He did not leave the Grizzled in peace she gave up and flew off in the end

Here's one I found last year in Cuba I've posted it here before Guy ID'd it for me as Hemiargus ceraunus
Smallest butterfly that I've seen by a long way

Just found this book in a charity shop. It is out of date , printed in 1980 and two of the species are now gone. It still a really nice book with good advice and was nice to see an old book that is not about collecting butterflies the emphasis is on watching and photographing them
Pete

Hi is there any particular area of Breney Common to find Marsh Fritilary ? or are they easy to find by just searching round. I will probaly only get one day to see the butterflies as we are going with the wifes family. Hopefully I will manage to spend time at Penhale Sands too.
Pete